France’s regulator sets out framework for fibre rollout

Arcep has set the regulatory framework that will govern how the incumbent, Orange, will roll out fibre services and access, notes Global Telecoms Business. “The French regulator has defined the asymmetric regulation that applies to Orange for three key broadband and superfast broadband markets: wholesale local access provided at a fixed location, wholesale central access provided at a fixed location for mass-market products, and wholesale high-quality access provided at a fixed location. The structural decisions, which come after months of consultation with both the French incumbent and its rivals, will shape regulation for the next three years with the aim of accelerating fibre deployments in France.” Arcep head Sebastien Soriano has warned that France was falling behind the rest of Europe in the deployment of fibre, and said the country needed to speed-up rollouts to keep up with the European Commission’s Gigabit Society plan. Arcep said: “Changes to the regulatory framework will enable more fluid rollout processes thanks to a more streamlined civil engineering offer from Orange, in addition to making alternative operators more autonomous and improving the indicators used to monitor quality of service, and so prevent any deterioration of the network.” Orange has proposed changes that it hopes will address operational difficulties its competitor have found when marketing their own fibre products, with the regulator finding these changes satisfactory enough that it will not immediately introduce specific obligations on the incumbent. Read more

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